Let's not forget about Microsoft's Techpolicy.com, which it describes as "a forum for academics." Note this is not funding, say, basic research in computer scie

Let's not forget about Microsoft's Techpolicy.com, which it describes as "a forum for academics." Note this is not funding, say, basic research in computer science; it's a pure policy focus. I'm not sure if this would also count as "bankrolling friendly academics?" I don't mean to single out Microsoft; I suspect many large companies do the same. And maybe the practice is defensible in principle--if academics get grants from Ford, Rockefeller, MacArthur and other organizations with a pro-regulation focus, maybe companies should give grants to fund work skeptical of regulation?